Liking Fred Wolf is not a curse. it's not something to be ashamed of. It's not something to pariah over.

If it where not for FW, many of us would never have discovered and learned to enjoy the original comic. even if it did take a while to get used to the more violent, adult nature of it as kids.

I just find it odd that on a forum where the logo and name is about the actual cartoon, there is so much distaste for, what one can argue, a franchise that basically helped re launch the entire property into cultural icon ism.

Before that last sentence makes die hards see red(pun intended?), . notice I said RE launch.

what did the Fred Wolf Series mean to you, either discovering it first round, or as an adult a tad late?

I loved the show when I was a kid. I loved singing along with the theme song, the goofiness of the show, Krang and Shredder bickering and Bebop and Rocksteady bumbling, all of it. I was Mikey for Halloween several years in a row. Good times.

I really like FW for what it is. It has it's own unique charm and reminds me of better times.

I still watch an episode or two every once in a while and get a few chuckles from the humor and there are some episodes that I really enjoy. It might not be my ideal version of TMNT, but I still appreciate it.

I only wish the market for TMNT merchandise and peoples views on TMNT didn't stay only on FW. There are other versions of TMNT out there. Why not let them get their time to shine?

Hopefully this thread stays positive and doesn't turn into another case of "lets bash FW!" Some 'Dromers have different tastes in regards to TMNT. Why not let them discuss it in peace?

I loved the cartoon as a kid too. Thought it was one of the best shows ever at that time. Fun to watch but slightly serious at times. The intro was badass to me. Liked all the main characters.

I still like the show as an adult, though it's not as good as I remembered it. It's not one of the best shows ever after all, but half of the episodes are still fun to watch. It's alright in small doses. A guilty pleasure that has its ups and downs (similar to Pokémon). Some episodes are actually more enjoyable to me as an adult, though, as a lot of the humour such as Raphael's sarcastic remarks and the batter between Shredder and Krang went over my head as a kid.

I think the Fred Wolf toon was a good introduction to the Turtles anyway, as I probably wouldn't have become a fan of tmnt or been interested in watching the 4Kids series without watching it first.

__________________
Splinter: "Winning is nothing. Doing your best and acting with honour are the only things that matter." (from Wrath of the Rat King)

This version was the first version of turtles I saw and it's definitely what got me interested in it (though the movies helped reinforce that). Truthfully, it still my favorite version in large part due to the characterization of Michelangelo who has always been my favorite.

Despite being the laid back and fun turtle, he was still a competent fighter and able of saving his brothers as much as they saved him, something I feel like later versions seem to forget. He came across as just a fun guy, someone I could easily see myself just shooting the breeze with.

I also must admit that despite it being a major point in all other versions, I kinda like that Leo and Raph lack that intense rivalry here. They still pick on one another but it isn't as...well...intense I guess as in other versions. I suppose I just like Raphael more as a smartass than a badass Wolverine type (though don't get me wrong, I do enjoy those versions too)

I've also just always been a fan of "anything goes" type of story telling so long as it follows the rules of the established universe and FW certainly does that. I'm always entertained by it.

That being said, I do thoroughly enjoy other versions as well (4kids being a close second) and I'll generally try anything at least once. For me, the selling point has always been the characters. If I really care/like the characters then everything else becomes less important

The Fred Wolf series is one of my favourite cartoons of all time next to The Real Ghostbusters. I'll always stand by that. It fuelled my imagination growing up and was a great source of ideas. I just think it's a sad we need an appreciation thread for a show that's constantly bashed on a website that was built on the show! I mean if you say you like the FW series and find it as worthy as other iterations you immediately get called a mental patient with limited Internet access or some other BS. I mean WTF?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Show was awesome when I was 6, 7. I remember getting mad when the same old episodes would play when I was anxious for new ones.

Imagine being a BBC viewer back in the early 90s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tetsu Deinonychus

and David Wise's BS interview where he paints himself as the "true" creator of TMNT

I've had problems with David in the past online due to his political views (he's limited Facebook post access as a result) and constant rudeness towards me. While he may embellish stuff about his involvement in the show he's not totally wrong. Before every Mirage fan here goes nuts on me like before I'll quote what you said in another post from another thread to explain why:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tetsu Deinonychus

There's always so much talk about how vastly different FW TMNT is from the original Mirage comics.

And, it's true. The 80s show mostly used the comic as loose inspiration rather than attempt a true adaptation. To be fair, the comic had only got to about issue 11 by that point so there wasn't that much Mirage around to adapt yet. They kinda had to come up with their own take on it.

So yeah that answers that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prowler

This thread's premise seems a bit pointless considering this sub-forum is primarily dedicated to FW TMNT... hell these forums originally were founded with the intent of making fans of the FW series come together. So a thread titled "The Fred Wolf Appreciation Thread" is a bit redundant.

Not really. I don't really see FW series fans come together, I see the series bashed every week I come here. A thread like this is necessary. It's ironic as you say considering it's built on the FW series.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neatoman

The topic of this thread seems... Oddly defensive...

I wonder why neatoman...I wonder why...

Quote:

Originally Posted by neatoman

My excuse is just that I was like 15 when I first tried to watch it, way past the age range to have the flaws fly over my head.

I watched TMNT when I was 7 or 8 and noticed most of the animation flaws as well as the formulaic plots. Who cares when the show is this much fun?

I've had problems with David in the past online due to his political views (he's limited Facebook post access as a result) and constant rudeness towards me. While he may embellish stuff about his involvement in the show he's not totally wrong. Before every Mirage fan here goes nuts on me like before I'll quote what you said in another post from another thread to explain why:

So yeah that answers that.

Yeah, but I'm talkling about stuff like taking credit for giving the Turtles individual personalities, or putting them in the sewers, or putting April in a Jumpsuit. Stuff that clearly existed in the source material.

If he wants to take credit for modeling April after Fujiko from Lupin (which I commend) or the Krang/Shredder dynamic or the whole Dimension X thing, that's one thing (assuming those were his ideas), but to take credit for elements that were in place before he was ever involved is ridiculous!

But, yes anybody adapting a comic into a show so early in it's run would have had to go in their own direction or run out of material to adapt pretty quickly.

Anyway, to get back to the "Appreciation" thing. I second what everyone is saying about the voice actors, and I'll also say that Season one holds up pretty well. It even has a bit of that "Mirage grit", as much as an 80s kid's show can have anyway.

I would like to share this previous thoughts from another post. It's hard to believe that this show is celebrating 30th anniversary. The original series has meant so much to me over the years. It was one of the first cartoons I ever watched. Whenever I feel really down, some of the episodes make me feel better. The recent crossover with 2012 series, especially meant a lot to me because I was going through a dark time in my life when it first aired. I'm also very much looking forward to the next one that will happening soon. I also wrote fan-mail to Cam Clarke about three years ago and he replied back in such a gentleman like way. It was thrilling to meet Rob Paulsen back in December 2016 at an Expo. I hope to meet Townsend Coleman, Barry Gordon and some other actors from the series someday. It would be also nice if Cam came to a convention in my area.

I marathon through the show every 2-3 years. I probably watched it in full about 10-15 times.

Overall I still enjoy about 75% of the shows total episodes. The show is supposed to be a fun parody of action shows with bizarre sci-fi plots and nonsensical things happening which is why it still holds up. If it was actually written as a serious show it would not stand out. There are bad episodes of course but that's 25% of the duller eps.

So, I ended up watching it late. And honestly, the best parts for me was the dialogue, especially when it was subtle insults at someone else's expense. "I'm taking out the trash" in regards to Vernon is a favorite.

And the way a few situations go horribly wrong.

Like in Turtles Everywhere, wherein the last female of a sea turtle species was coming to the beach to lay her eggs, and promptly gets captured in front of everyone watching. Probably the worst thing that could happen aside from the turtle just...flopping over and dying.

I would like a revival in Krang watching soap operas...I found that to be fun. And a return to his scientific background as well, but I guess Ma'riell might be taking up that mantle from him.